The first ECAP participants are Bobo Choses, OVS, Peak Performance, Primark, and Star Sock.
Funded by EU LIFE, ECAP aims to develop a pan-European framework to deliver practical actions to reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints across the lifecycle of clothing.
By signing up to ECAP, participants will be working towards this goal by following the initiative’s aims to divert 90,000 tonnes of clothing waste from landfill and incineration, save 1.6 million tonnes of CO2, and make 588 million m³ of water savings.
ECAP
WRAP took the lead on the ECAP project last year (see letsreycle.com story), and works in partnership with four organisations from the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver the initiative across Europe.
The partner organisations include MADE-BY, a European non-profit working towards making sustainable fashion common practice; Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), part of the Dutch ministry of Infrastructure and Environment working towards a sustainable environment; Danish Fashion Institute (DAFI), an organisation for and by the Danish fashion industry pioneering clothing sustainability, and; London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB), a statutory Board providing a strategic approach to waste management in London.
WRAP’s head of products, Sarah Clayton, said: “As the first participants of ECAP, these organisations are championing sustainable clothing across Europe.
“The wheels are in motion, but more can be done – we are looking to welcome and involve more brands, retailers, manufacturers, reuse and recycling organisations, charities and consumers in the plan to drive greater sustainability of clothing across Europe.”
“The wheels are in motion, but more can be done – we are looking to welcome and involve more brands, retailers, manufacturers, reuse and recycling organisations, charities and consumers in the plan to drive greater sustainability of clothing across Europe.”
Sarah Clayton
Head of products at WRAP
‘Highly beneficial’
Åsa Andersson, CR & quality manager at Peak Performance, said: “We expect the ECAP project to be highly beneficial for us. It gives us the opportunity to work in collaboration with professional partners and likeminded brands, and furthermore has the potential to propel our product sustainability to the next level.”
As participants, the brands and retailers benefit from support in order to understand the current environmental impact of their fibre footprint and to develop a strategy to reduce this impact, through the selection of more sustainable alternatives – for example, choosing a more sustainable cotton over traditional cotton.
Katharine Stewart, director of ethical trade at Primark, said: “At Primark we are committed to reducing the impact that we have on the environment, and as part of that commitment we have signed up to the European Clothing Action Plan.”
Adriana Esperalba Esquerra, creative director of Bobo Choses, added: “Creating new and fun worlds for children that have a positive impact is at the core of the Bobo Choses brand. We joined ECAP in order to work together with partners such as MADE-BY and other brands so as to help drive sustainability across our brand and value chain in an integrated way.”
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